System and method for authorizing transactions in an authorized member network

Abstract

In the disclosed transaction processing system, members of an authorized network of consumers and merchants manage account information using blockchain ledgers. Because both consumers and merchants maintain copies of the blockchain, for any consumer/merchant transaction, both entities can quickly validate the transaction because both are aware, via their blockchain entries, of the current status of the account sourcing the transaction, allowing fast and accurate transaction validation without the need to incur the processing charges inherent in traditional fiat currency credit transactions.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A system, comprising:
 an authorized network of nodes comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of merchant devices, wherein each of the nodes is associated with at least one account, and a state of each account of each node is managed by a blockchain such that copies of each blockchain are maintained by at least a portion of the plurality of nodes and merchant devices; 
 a merchant device of the plurality of merchant devices comprising a network interface coupled with the authorized network of nodes, storage, memory, and at least one processor coupled with the network interface, the storage, and the memory, and the storage to store a first copy of the blockchain;
 the at least one processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory, that when executed, cause the at least one processor to:
 receive, via the network interface, a transaction request from a node of the plurality of nodes, the transaction request including a blockchain message including a key, an account balance of an account associated with the node and maintained in a second copy of the blockchain on the node, and a transaction value; 
 retrieve, from the storage, a stored key associated with the account; 
 authenticate the transaction request using the first copy of the blockchain by comparing the key against the stored key associated with the account; 
 determine the first copy of the blockchain and the second copy of the blockchain are synchronized based on the account balance; 
 validate the transaction request based on the first copy of the blockchain and the second copy of the blockchain determined to be synchronized; and 
 authorize the transaction request in response to the transaction request based on the transaction request being authenticated and validated. 
 
 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , comprising the processor to:
 store a plurality of transactions in the storage of the merchant device; and 
 periodically cause, via a network interface, communication of the plurality of transactions to a central authority server to update the blockchain. 
 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 2 , the processor to periodically cause, via the network interface, communication of the plurality of transactions to at least a portion of the nodes and merchant devices. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1 , wherein validate the transaction request further comprises the processor to determine the account has sufficient funds based on the transaction value. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 1 , wherein validate the transaction request further comprises receiving one or more blockchain validation messages from corresponding one or more other nodes indicating the first copy of the blockchain and the second copy of the blockchain are synchronized. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 1 , the processor to generate an updated block representing an updated state of the account of the node following the authorization and validation of the transaction request. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 1 , the processor to reject the transaction when the transaction request cannot be authenticated, validated, or both. 
     
     
       8. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 receiving, via a network interface of a merchant device, a transaction request from a node of a plurality of nodes in an authorized network nodes, the transaction request including a blockchain message including a key, an account balance of an account associated with the node and maintained in a second copy of a blockchain on the node, and a transaction value; 
 retrieving, from storage of the merchant device, a stored key associated with the account; 
 authenticating, by processing circuitry of the merchant device, the transaction request using a first copy of the blockchain by comparing the key against the stored key associated with the account; 
 determining, by the processing circuitry, the first copy of the blockchain and the second copy of the blockchain are synchronized based on the account balance; 
 validating, by the processing circuitry, the transaction request based on the first copy of the blockchain and the second copy of the blockchain determined to be synchronized; and 
 authorizing, by the processing circuitry, the transaction request in response to the transaction request based on the transaction request being authenticated and validated. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , comprising:
 storing a plurality of transactions in a storage of a merchant device; and 
 periodically causing, via a network interface, communication of the plurality of transactions to a central authority server to update the blockchain. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 8 , comprising periodically causing, via the network interface, communication of the plurality of transactions to at least a portion of the nodes and merchant devices. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 8 , wherein validating the transaction request further comprises determining the account has sufficient funds based on the transaction value. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 8 , wherein validating the transaction request further comprises receiving one or more blockchain validation messages from corresponding one or more other nodes indicating the first copy of the blockchain and the second copy of the blockchain are synchronized. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 8 , comprising generating an updated block representing an updated state of the account of the node following the authorization and validation of the transaction request. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 8  comprising rejecting the transaction when the transaction request cannot be authenticated, validated, or both. 
     
     
       15. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a set of instructions that, in response to being executed on a computing system, cause the computing system to:
 receive, via a network interface of the computing system, a transaction request from a node of a plurality of nodes of an authorized network, the transaction request including a blockchain message including a key, an account balance of an account associated with the node and maintained in a second copy of a blockchain on the node, and a transaction value; 
 retrieve, from storage of the computing system, a stored key associated with the account; 
 authenticate the transaction request using a first copy of the blockchain by comparing the key against the stored key associated with the account; 
 determine the first copy of the blockchain and the second copy of the blockchain are synchronized based on the account balance; 
 validate the transaction request based on the first copy of the blockchain and the second copy of the blockchain determined to be synchronized; and 
 authorize the transaction request in response to the transaction request based on the transaction request being authenticated and validated. 
 
     
     
       16. The medium of  claim 15 , the computing system to:
 store a plurality of transactions in a storage of a merchant device; and 
 periodically cause, via a network interface, communication of the plurality of transactions to a central authority server to update the blockchain. 
 
     
     
       17. The medium of  claim 15 , the computing system to periodically cause, via the network interface, communication of the plurality of transactions to at least a portion of the nodes and merchant devices. 
     
     
       18. The medium of  claim 15 , wherein validating the transaction request further comprises determining the account has sufficient funds based on the transaction value. 
     
     
       19. The medium of  claim 15 , wherein validating the transaction request further comprises receiving one or more blockchain validation messages from corresponding one or more other nodes indicating the first copy of the blockchain and the second copy of the blockchain are synchronized. 
     
     
       20. The medium of  claim 15 , the computing system to generate an updated block representing an updated state of the account of the node following the authorization and validation of the transaction request.